'Cloud Atlas' -- 2 1/2 stars

R; 2:44 running time Six storylines provide the webbing. Adapters and directors Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski crosscut and juggle the stories more aggressively than Mitchell did on the page. Chronologically it begins in 1849 on a Pacific Ocean voyage, and ends in the 24th century, after a series of selfish acts have caught up with our planet. In later sequences, Hanks plays a lonely goat herder, who speaks in a throwback Uncle Remus argot reflecting the cyclical nature of all things under the sun. In the book, old Zachry observes: "Most yarnin's got a bit o' true, some yarnin's got some true, an' a few yarnin's got a lot o' true." The funny thing about the film version of "Cloud Atlas" is that Hanks' musings about yarnin's and "the true-true" is correct: Crisscrossing time zones and centuries for nearly three hours, the results are a little true here, a little more there, patently ridiculous in some aspects and quite beautiful in others. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full "Cloud Atlas" movie review

R; 2:44 running time Six storylines provide the webbing. Adapters and directors Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski crosscut and juggle the stories more aggressively than Mitchell did on the page. Chronologically it begins in 1849 on a Pacific Ocean voyage, and ends in the 24th century, after a series of selfish acts have caught up with our planet. In later sequences, Hanks plays a lonely goat herder, who speaks in a throwback Uncle Remus argot reflecting the cyclical nature of all things under the sun. In the book, old Zachry observes: "Most yarnin's got a bit o' true, some yarnin's got some true, an' a few yarnin's got a lot o' true." The funny thing about the film version of "Cloud Atlas" is that Hanks' musings about yarnin's and "the true-true" is correct: Crisscrossing time zones and centuries for nearly three hours, the results are a little true here, a little more there, patently ridiculous in some aspects and quite beautiful in others. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full "Cloud Atlas" movie review

R; 2:44 running time Six storylines provide the webbing. Adapters and directors Lana Wachowski, Tom Tykwer and Andy Wachowski crosscut and juggle the stories more aggressively than Mitchell did on the page. Chronologically it begins in 1849 on a Pacific Ocean voyage, and ends in the 24th century, after a series of selfish acts have caught up with our planet. In later sequences, Hanks plays a lonely goat herder, who speaks in a throwback Uncle Remus argot reflecting the cyclical nature of all things under the sun. In the book, old Zachry observes: "Most yarnin's got a bit o' true, some yarnin's got some true, an' a few yarnin's got a lot o' true." The funny thing about the film version of "Cloud Atlas" is that Hanks' musings about yarnin's and "the true-true" is correct: Crisscrossing time zones and centuries for nearly three hours, the results are a little true here, a little more there, patently ridiculous in some aspects and quite beautiful in others. -- Michael PhillipsRead the full "Cloud Atlas" movie review